HSBC acquires NHFA LTD

HSBC Holdings PLC
04 July 2005



                             HSBC ACQUIRES NHFA Ltd

HSBC has acquired NHFA Limited, formerly known as the Nursing Home Fees Agency,
a UK-based provider of independent financial and legal advisory services for
those considering long-term care. The transaction remains subject to regulatory
approval.

NHFA, which had gross assets of approximately £900,000 at 1 July 2005, provides
financial and legal advice to mature people about to enter residential or
nursing home care or in need of long-term care at home. Founded in 1991, NHFA
helps thousands of families each year. It is committed to providing free advice
to all mature people, their families and carers, regardless of means, on the
financial and legal implications of obtaining and paying for care. These free
services cover care home selection and all state-related benefits and services.
NHFA derives income from those customers seeking advice on private financial
services.

Tony Hope, Group General Manager of HSBC Insurance, said: "HSBC has identified a
need to develop its service offering for long-term care. The acquisition of
NHFA, the leading practitioner in the UK market, brings HSBC a new range of
services. It also forms part of the bank's strategy of evolving its range of
later life services to fit with the extraordinary changes over recent years in
customer needs and desires identified by our 'Future of Retirement' study."

Philip Spiers, NHFA's Managing Director, said: "We have decided that the best
future for NHFA is as part of a strong financial institution which shares our
philosophy and ethos. We are both committed to providing the best advice in the
increasingly important and growing field of long-term care. At the same time, we
will maintain the highest standards of compliance and integrity in the advice
process, as part of an institution that shares our values. HSBC offers us a
major platform for the growth and development of our services and we are
delighted to become part of one of the world's most respected financial services
organisations."

NHFA is an independent financial advice practice offering services which combine
financial advice with the complexities of local and health authority charging
and assessment procedures, state benefits and legal matters relating to
long-term care. NHFA aims to enable mature people to meet the cost of their
chosen care whilst also preserving their original capital and with that their
independence, dignity and right of choice. Financial advice includes selection
of the most appropriate short-term annuities or investments to match income with
care costs, tax and estate planning, and equity release loans to finance care or
lifestyle aspirations in retirement. NHFA will continue to offer free care
advice services as a member of the HSBC Group.

Hope continued: "In the UK, 10.2 million people are over 65 and an estimated one
in four will require long-term care at some stage of their lives. As birth rates
drop and life expectancy grows, the UK population is ageing, creating huge
social and economic opportunities and challenges. HSBC has devoted considerable
attention to the issue of later life, notably in the 'The Future of Retirement'
study, and NHFA will provide us with a high quality platform for the further
development of our services."

HSBC's 'Future of Retirement' study, which was published in May 2005, surveyed
attitudes towards ageing and retirement in 10 countries and territories. It
revealed a growing global desire to create new models of later life and a
rejection of mandatory retirement ages and other proscriptive regulation.
Further details can be obtained from www.hsbc.com/futureofretirement.com.

HSBC intends to maintain its tradition of providing the best service to all of
its customers whatever their age or circumstances. Organising long-term care can
be a confusing, complicated and stressful task undertaken at a time when
individuals are often at their most vulnerable. By acquiring NHFA, HSBC will be
able to offer expert help to its customers in what is becoming an increasingly
specialist field.

Hope concluded: "HSBC is devoted to helping all of its customers understand and
manage their finances. It already funds nearly 40 financial literacy programmes.
HSBC is now poised to provide its mature customers with the specialist and
professional advice they need to make informed lifestyle decisions."

Note to editors:

HSBC Holdings plc
HSBC Holdings plc is headquartered in the UK. The HSBC Group serves over 110
million customers worldwide from more than 9,800 offices in 77 countries 
and territories in Europe, the Asia-Pacific region, the Americas, 
the Middle East and Africa. With assets of US$1,277 billion at 31 December 2004,
HSBC is one of the world's largest banking and financial services organisations 
HSBC is marketed worldwide as 'the world's local bank'.





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